Concerning Moab , this is what the LORD of Hosts , the God of Israel , says : “ Woe to Nebo , for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced ; the fortress will be shattered and dismantled.
There is no longer praise for Moab ; in Heshbon they devise evil against her : ‘ Come , let us cut her off from nationhood. ’ You too , O (people of) Madmen , will be silenced ; the sword will pursue you.
A voice cries out from Horonaim : ‘ Devastation and great destruction ! ’
Moab ... will be shattered ; her little ones will cry out.
For on the ascent to Luhith they weep bitterly as they go , and on the descent to Horonaim cries of distress resound over the destruction :
‘ Flee ! Run for your lives ! Become like a juniper in the desert. ’
- Because you trust in your works and treasures , you too will be captured , and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.
The destroyer will move against every city , and not one town will escape. The valley will also be ruined , and the high plain will be destroyed , as the LORD has said.
Put salt on Moab , for she will be laid waste ... ; her cities will become desolate , with no one to dwell
Cursed (is the one) who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD , and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
Moab has been at ease from youth , settled ... like wine on its dregs ; he has not been poured from vessel to vessel (or) gone into exile. So ... his flavor has remained the same , and his aroma vvv is unchanged.
Therefore behold , the days are coming , declares the LORD , when I will send wanderers , who will pour him out. They will empty his vessels and shatter his jars.
Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh , just as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.
How can you say , ‘ We are warriors , mighty men ready for battle ’ ?
Moab has been destroyed and its towns have been invaded ; the best of its young men have gone down in the slaughter , declares the King , whose name (is) the LORD of Hosts.
Moab’s calamity is at hand ... , and his affliction is rushing swiftly.
Mourn all you who surround him , everyone who knows his name ; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered — the glorious staff !
Come down from your glory ; sit on parched ground , O daughter dwelling in Dibon , for the destroyer of Moab has come he has destroyed your fortresses.
Stand by the road and watch , O dweller of Aroer ! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping ... , ‘ What has happened ? ’
Moab is put to shame , for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out ! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
Judgment has come upon vvv the high plain — upon Holon , ... Jahzah , and Mephaath ,
upon Dibon , ... Nebo , and vvv Beth-diblathaim ,
upon Kiriathaim , ... vvv Beth-gamul , and vvv Beth-meon ,
upon Kerioth , ... Bozrah , ... and all the towns vvv of Moab , those far and near.
The horn of Moab has been cut off , and his arm is broken , ” declares the LORD.
“ Make him drunk , because he has magnified himself against the LORD ; so Moab will wallow in his own vomit , and he will also become a laughingstock.
- Was not Israel object of ridicule ? Was he ever found (among thieves) ? - For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.
Abandon the towns and settle among the rocks , O dwellers of Moab ! Be like a dove that nests at the mouth of a cave.
We have heard of Moab’s pomposity , his exceeding pride (and) conceit , his proud arrogance and haughtiness of heart.
I know his insolence , ” declares the LORD , “ but it is futile .... His boasting is as empty as his deeds.
Therefore ... I will wail for Moab ; I will cry out for all of Moab ; I will moan for the men vvv of Kir-heres.
I will weep O vine of Sibmah , more than I weep for Jazer. Your tendrils have extended to the sea ; they reach (even) to - Jazer. The destroyer has descended on your summer fruit ... and grape harvest.
Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard and from the fields of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses ; no one treads them with shouts of joy ; their shouts are not for joy.
There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh ; they raise their voices to Jahaz , from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah ... ; for even the waters of Nimrim vvv have dried up.
In Moab , declares the LORD , I will bring an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods.
Therefore ... My heart laments like a flute for Moab ; (it) laments like a flute for the men vvv of Kir-heres , because ... the wealth they acquired has perished.
For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped ; on every hand is a gash , and around every waist (is) sackcloth.
On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares , everyone is mourning ; for I have shattered - Moab vvv like an unwanted jar declares the LORD.
“ How shattered (it is) ! How they wail ! How Moab has turned his back in shame ! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.”
For this is what the LORD says : “ Behold , an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
Kirioth has been taken , and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD.
Terror and pit and snare await you , O dweller of Moab , ” declares the LORD.
“ Whoever flees ... the panic will fall into the pit , and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For I will bring upon ... Moab the year of their punishment , ” declares the LORD.
“ Those who flee will stand helpless in Heshbon’s shadow , because fire has gone forth from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It devours the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of the sons of tumult.
Woe O Moab ! The people of Chemosh have perished ; for your sons have been taken into exile and your daughters have gone into captivity.
Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity , ” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.